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Saturday, January 30, 2010

"Make It Crafty" Must Be Stopped! (Plus $3.99 Sale!)

Readers, there's an evil force threatening the integrity of sewists everywhere: McCall's "Make It Crafty" Patterns. This is a line of perfectly fine patterns that have been obscenely degraded with scattered lace appliques, big honkin' rosettes, and the over-enthusiastic use of bedazzling. Don't fall victim to its siren song!

The pattern jacket pictured above, for instance? Is from a collection of Chanel-inspired cardigan jackets that would be fabulous with some tasteful trim. Why, oh why, must it be made crafty?Then there's this new knit top pattern. Perfectly acceptable in theory. Hey, I know! Let's throw some randomly placed crap on it!

Be careful, readers. I beseech you: Resist the urge to Make it Crafty!

Oh! And the impetus for this whole rant is that there's a $3.99 pattern sale going on at Vogue, Butterick, and McCall. Guess who's getting some new patterns?

I agree, the models even look pissed off to be wearing them! The "random bits of lace thrown on a tank" is particularly hideous. I've made one of the "crafty" skirt patterns minus the bedazzling and it was great, so you just have to look past the detritus...

You know the one that scares me the most? The fabric necklace one. My hat's off to anyone who makes something gorgeous out of this, and I'm sure there's someone who can...but I don't have the vision! http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m6048-products-10746.php?page_id=96&search_control=display&list=0

Ok, you've got me with the jacket. Ditto for the T with the random rosettes hovering around the nipple zone.

But I have to defend the tank with the diagonal crap on it--I'd wear it, because the geegaws would be great at dividing up my straight torso. Granted I'd probably drop the one RIGHT over the bust since I don't need added volume there.

I am SO glad you posted this! I've been seeing those patterns and wondering if I'm completely out of touch and if there's some strange place where people would actually wear such things. Glad to know others are equally horrified!

I guess the main thing here is do we need pattern for these "crafty" attachments? And do we need McCalls to do that? Isn't there enough sewing/craft magazines that can provides such things like this? Although I see Vix's point, but I'd rather have McCalls focusing on the pattern cutting rather than bedazzling crafty stuff.

to the tune of almost 2k USD. I understand that Marc Jacobs is trying to do the whole ironic thing with the messy, over the top trim on this jacket, but fundamentally, how different is it from the McCalls? I'm sure that the fabric and trims are the highest quality and that the construction is exquisite, but I'm just saying...

Yukidiyuk. Why do some designers think that women who sew their own clothes like to "embellish" their clothes with silly, useless, tacky adornments?

I must agree with Dora. One of the reasons for sewing my own stuff is exactly that I want to wear clothes without weird stuff on it - it just makes the clothes look sooo cheap.

Thanks for sharing the same opinion. I thought it was just my particular taste.It also seems to be an international problem.I so wish BWOF would give up on their "crafty" pages and do some more detailed sewing instructions or indeed ANYTHING more related to sewing.

Another example of the adage, "Just because you CAN do something, that doesn't mean you SHOULD."

Ugh. Unfortunately, amongst the ranks of people who are re-fashioning or upcycling used clothing, there's a rash of unnecessary embellishment. I think it stems from attempts to use up every scrap of fabric from the remodeled garment. It tends to lead to some ugly, ugly clothing.

There's a magazine, "Altered Couture" that glorifies this horrifying trend. It scares me, how ugly the finished projects are in there.

Every time I sew something, I find myself simplifying the garment rather than adding any gee-gaws included in the pattern...

Hunh. Maybe I have a twisted mind but could this possibly be pressure from Joanne's fabrics (and other 'fabric stores that are really into crafts and just keep a bit of fabric around to make it look as if they know something about sewing")? Just a thought.

Somehow these 'Make it Crafty' patterns had completely passed me by... and boy will they continue to do so! The T-shirts are definitely the worst offenders. If you replaced the tacky trim on the 'Chanel' jackets with something half decent, they'd actually be fine (if not my cuppa tea). Speaking of trim - did any of you catch the BBC House of Chanel documentary a few years ago? It featured this little old lady who painstakingly makes all their braid - the most fabulously opulent stuff - from the bottom of an old dusty hut in remotest France... It was full of fascinating insight and I recommend it if you haven't seen it.

Hm. IIRC, they're doing a $1.99 sale on McCalls and Butterick at Joanns. And week after next, Simplicity patterns are once again $1 each. Since Simplicity has the prettiest christening gowns at the moment, and my niece is due in a few months, I'm eagerly awaiting it for Simplicity 2457...

Why did women work so hard to leave the home and go to work only to dress like an art project when they got there?

[This was the end of a much longer rant about office/elementary school/library style dressing that I feel is the demographic these "make it crafty" patterns are supposed to appeal to. I had written it up, but I'll spare you all the rant, and just ask the question.]

Agree with Nancy above, I have nothing against refashions, but don't make it look all hodge podgy and like you stuck something on it to detract from the material being washed out. I only refashion things that look basically new, but had horrible fit or something, make it over for one of my daughters, a top, maybe. But I use a commercial pattern to cut it, and it works. Any time I refashion something for me from my old clothes, I cannot make it work. The DIY crafty patterns mentioned remind me of some of those overdone refashions. The patterns have good bones, there's nothing wrong with ruffles, trim, etc., but in moderation. Carolyn mentioned once a book about embellishments, and if she reads this, maybe she can elaborate, but I remember there's a number limit to shoot for so you're not overdone.

I think there's a skill that any pattern-sewer needs, and that's to look past the ugly fabrics and corny model poses on the envelopes to see what the garment really looks like. These types of patterns just provide a good test of that skill. I recommend focusing on the technical drawings and not the images.

I bought that pattern, mostly because the cut looks very nice. i.e. over the shoulder princess seams, which make alterations easy, as well as proper 2 piece sleeves. I thought it would work to copy a Milly jacket I liked, which was ivory wool boucle with a bit of subdued black tulle trim.

I also bought McCall's 6039, a jacket which I thought had nice lines, until I got home and realized it had NO bust shaping whatsoever! It's perfectly suited to a 10 year old! I was going to do it in a black check wool, but I think I will save my fabric. I can't imagine a cotton jacket with no shaping; that's even worse!

You know, I have to step in and defend some of the rosettes. I make large-ish silk fabric rosette brooches and get compliments on them ALL THE TIME. All that other crap on the pattern, though, is just that - crap. I think part of the problem is some of the jarring colour combinations too. Blech, just blech.

I'll also defend the magazine Altered Couture - to an extent. I own one issue and I really enjoy some of the visual stimulation. I even made my own version of a jacket that was featured and it's gorgeous (if I do say so myself).

Otherwise, with 65+ Burda magazines I just don't buy many envelope patterns other than vintage and vogue. So, during this sale I knocked 7 patterns off my "Vogue Patterns I Want" list!

OMG I agree with you...I viewed these patterns while in Joann's one day a while back and thought the very same thing. The are cute designs that have been ruined by all the "crap" they put on them. The pink blouse in the one pattern is just rediculous!!! Who in their right mind would want all those rosettes on their blouse and in such "bad" locations. They fell short with these patterns in a major way!!!

As to the $3.99 pattern sale on Vogue I couldn't resist and purchased three:

V1160 DKNY Dress & Slip(Thought this pattern was fun and flirty for spring/summer)

V8615 Very Easy Vouge Dress(I liked what you did with your dress and wanted to try one of my own with some form of waistline accessory)

V8146 Jacket & Dress(Love the jacket...could be made as an evening coat to go with V8615. The dress I have plans to alter for a designer dress I'd like to knock-off)

While I'm not against embellishment, there is something about these patterns that just reminds me of the awful trend in the 80s/early 90s for random embellishment (remember outlining appliques with puff paint? The Beadazzler machine?). *shudder* There is a difference between tasteful embellishment that harmonizes with the overal design and material, versus embellishment that is just for the sake of embellishing (and really has no relation to the overall look). ;)

As I was waiting to pay for the patterns I was able to imagine those garments sewn up MINUS the fu-fu embellishments, and proceeded with purchasing the 2 patterns. As I walked out the door I silently uttered, that the purchase was warranted as I continued thinking that the patterns has good bones, which would make great essentials to any wardrobe.

I can't help but cringe every time I see those patterns. While I'm not really a vintage sewer, I've been finding that I want to make things that are constructed well and tasteful. (Well, at least tasteful in the realm of my more Boho-casual-somewhat undefined sense of style...working on that part.) And, well, while I have nothing against good embellishment, I have yet to see it on these patterns. It really goes right along with a recent revelation I've had while continuing to follow the Wardrobe Refashion blog that I used to be a part of--a lot of it just looks badly made and cheap, and just because that old shirt can become a ruffle or something on that other old shirt doesn't mean that is should.

I thought that I was the only one that hated "crafty" additions to perfectly good patterns...and a lot of other things too. Not only why ruin the pattern, but what about letting the fabric speak for itself. The beauty of the fabric that you surely shopped especially for and the $$$ spent should speak for itself.

I think it's pretty sad that anyone should feel they need to follow a pattern for embellishment. Really, what McCall's is saying is that if you're a crafter, then you can't possibly have your own imagination or creativity, which I thought was the point of being interested in those things.

Most of the images pictured are pretty hideous, but I think that the grey jacket would be nice if all of the trim were black instead of both black and white. Funny, though, because I put some of Emma Pillsbury's necklaces and bows into the same category as the giant poufy flower, and this tank you posted about seems pretty closely related to the tank with the ruffles to me.

I've been reading your blog for awhile and absolutely adore it, and while going through the archives I found this entry and I just have to say the following:

This is what passes for fashion in Moscow, where I'm currently living. I know some will say that Moscow is like some new fashion-capital but, based on what I see (and the looks I get in my own outfits around town) they are way out of touch. And these "make-it-crafty" things are EXACTLY the types of things you'll see in markets and on women. I understand different aesthetics etc etc (I mean, I HAVE lived here for 5 years) but all I can think when wandering around town or heading into work is "taste level!"

Gertie, this is so funny - one of my students just sent a link - we use that t-shirt pattern in class and I always assure people that we will definitely NOT be making it crafty. It's a great shape, but not with all that crap down the front!